Part 9

Lucy and Caspian had been kept apart most of the night by circumstance. When one looked, the other

was usually busy…either in conversations that could not be interrupted or a dance partner that drew

them across the room.

Caspian had danced with both Archenland princesses and several noblewomen and was growing

desperate. He really wanted to sweep the light of his heart into his arms, across the dance floor, and off

her feet. He saw his chance and took it near the end of the night, interrupting Teddy ruthlessly as the

other man opened his mouth. "Queen Lucy, you have yet to honor me with a dance," he said lightly.

Lucy's eyes lit up with laughter. "Well, that's a terrible oversight on my part! I shall have to rectify the

problem immediately!"

Caspian laughed. "Yes, you should." He drew her hand through his arm, leading her onto the dance

floor.

Everyone emotionally invested in the pair saw this action and silently cheered.

Caspian and Lucy started the dance, flawlessly executing the maneuvers. "You are a marvelous dancer,

Your Majesty," Lucy said lightly.

Caspian smiled. "Well, thank you, Your Highness. As are you."

She smiled broadly. "Thanks!"

He laughed lightly. "Any time. Lucy," he said growing serious, "I meant to tell you earlier that you look beautiful tonight."

She blushed. "Oh, well thank you. You, too. Look handsome, I mean."

Caspian laughed. "Well, thanks. Glad you noticed," he teased, wanting her to smile again. She looked at

him seriously, however.

"I've always noticed," she said quietly. That touched something inside Caspian's heart.

"Good. I'd hate to be the only one noticing the attractiveness of the other here," he said lightly, looking

at her pretty, gently freckled face.

Lucy looked startled, then laughed delightedly. "Charmer." She said admiringly.

He shook his head. "Nope, just speaking the truth. So now that we've spoken the surface requirements,"

he said softly, "I'd like to set a place to talk about more…weighty matters."

Lucy had been prepared for that statement. She'd been watching Caspian all night, and the way he

looked at her had changed, as if he'd made a decision…one she'd like, from the expressions she'd seen

on his handsome face tonight. She wasn't, however, ready to let down her walls.

Caspian spoke before she could refuse…or accept… the request. "Please, Lucy," he whispered in her ear

as he pulled her close in one of the steps of the dance. "You've tried so hard to give me what I asked for.

What we both thought I wanted. Please give me this. There are things I need to say, and I prefer you being the only audience."

She sighed, looking at him. He looked in earnest, like this was really important to him.

Her walls crashed down, and she smiled at him with all the feelings she had for him.

He looked relieved. "There's the Lucy I've missed so much. I was wondering if she was still there."

She laughed lightly. "She's still here." She assented to his request, asking simply, "Where?"

"After the ball. The room we used the last time. I have no idea what time, though," he said

apologetically. "I have duties to fulfill…"

She covered his mouth gently with one hand, preventing his speech. "Say no more, I understand." She

smiled. "I'll wait for you."

He gently drew her hand from his lips and kissed the fingers lightly. "Not any longer than you have to,"

he vowed.

At that point, the dance drew them to different partners, and that was the last ballroom moment they

shared for the evening.

CoN CL CoN LC

It was later than Caspian had planned when he hurried down the hall to the sitting room. He had been

waylaid by several people, and had not the way to discourage them from bending his ear. He had

stopped in his room to remove his coat and waistcoat and was now in shirtsleeves. Caspian opened the

door, looking in to see Lucy, curled up in a comfortable chair, asleep.

Disappointment and tenderness surged through him at the sight of the sleeping young lady. She had

obviously changed out of her own ball attire and was now wearing a dressing gown of swirling blues and

greens. Her hair had been released of its confines and lay on her shoulders. She looked disheveled…and

utterly adorable.

Although Caspian had wanted to speak to her tonight, he did not want to disturb her sleep. That chair

was cradling her head at an awkward angle, and she would awaken with a crick in her neck if he did not

move her, however. He moved toward her, closing the door behind him, when her head lifted and her

eyes opened. She actually looked relatively alert, despite the yawn she gave. "Hello," she said through

the yawn, smiling at him.

"Hi," he replied, smiling back. "Sorry it took so long."

"That's all right. I told you I understood."

Caspian looked at her again, unable to stop. She had sat up straight by that time, hands in her lap. He

started to speak as she did, then they both stopped, laughing.

She gestured to him to go first. "I just wondered if we should talk in the morning," he admitted.

She raised a brow. "You're tired," he explained.

She countered, "As are you. I'm awake and fine now. Besides, I think if we don't talk now…" she

hesitated, biting her lip adorably.

"Yes?" he prompted.

Lucy sighed. "If we don't discuss this now, we WON'T at all. We'll find it too easy to let it slide to a more

convenient time." She stood, walking over to him, and took his hand. "And Caspian, this needs to be

spoken now. It's too important, WE'RE too important, to put this off any more."

Her small hand felt so right in his large one, he had trouble focusing on what she was saying. But he

forced himself to do so. Then, after a pause to process what she said, he had to agree.

He nodded once, shortly. "You're right." Silence fell for a short time, then he sighed. "It was easier when

we just knew what the other was thinking. No words necessary."

She gave a wry chuckle. "Yeah, but that could land us in trouble. We can't just assume the other knows

what we're trying to say. We have to SHARE the feelings, Caspian. Look, would it help if I go first?"

He wanted to shout 'Yes!' but he knew he had caused enough damage that repairing it, or starting to,

meant HE had to take the first step. "No, I can do this." 'I think,' his mind said.

He took a deep breath. "You know I've always cared for you, right? From the start, you have always been important to me."

She nodded and smiled, willing him to go on with her simple, "Yes."

He continued, squeezing her hand. "I don't know when that changed from caring for you as a friend and

little sister type to how I feel for you now, but it did. It has," he said.

Lucy kept smiling; she couldn't seem to stop. "I know," she said softly, encouraging him to continue on.

"I think it started when you came back to Narnia," he shared. "I was so happy to see you. YOU, Lu, not

just you and Ed. I didn't understand what that meant until recently, that seeing you makes me happy.

YOU make me happy."

She almost cried; this was better than she had hoped. "Caspian…"

He let her hand go and framed her face in both of his hands. "Let me finish, please," he said softly.

She nodded, shakily.

He continued. "I fought against the change of heart for the longest time. You know that. You SAW that.

And in fighting, I pushed away the person that matters most. I wasn't trying to hurt you, Lucy. You HAVE

to believe that. And I am so sorry I did."

Her heart lurched at the memory. "I do believe that, and I forgive you," she choked.

He smiled at her, getting the strength he needed to continue from the radiant light in those bright blue orbs.

"I have a confession to make, Lucy." He said gravely. She looked at him, surprised. "I saw you and Ed the night of the storm. You were crying," he whispered painfully. She almost pulled away from his hold on

her, but he countered gently. "You were crying because of me, weren't you?"

She nodded, tears filling her eyes again.

He nodded in return, his fears confirmed. "You were crying, and it broke my heart. I realized that I

wanted the right to calm you, to hold you. THAT'S when I stopped fighting so hard, Lucy. That's when I

realized how much I care for you, how I feel about you."

Lucy reached up and grasped his shoulders, wanting to HEAR the WORDS, NEEDING to hear them. He

wrapped his hands around her small waist, pulling her closer to him.

"And how is that?" she teased, her voice tremulous. Caspian closed his eyes, gathering his courage. He

leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers, looking into her eyes as he gave her what she needed.

"I love you, Lucy Pevensie. THAT'S how I feel about you. I feel like I've loved you forever."

"Oh," Lucy breathed, shivering in reaction. She reached around Caspian's neck, clasping her hands to

hold him tight. She needed a second to process the feelings she had waited so long to hear uttered.

His voice was rough as he moved his hands to her face again, her beautiful, freckly face. "Speechless, are we?"

"Noo," she breathed. "I have a few words."

"And they are?" he teased gently.

Her hands felt like paradise on his stubbly cheeks as she copied his actions. Then she whispered the

words HE needed to hear, longed to hear.

"I love you, Caspian Atencourt, and I KNOW I've loved you forever," she confided.

He closed his eyes at the rush of feelings that overcame him. He felt like he could do anything, BE

anything, because she loved him.

He opened his eyes, tears filling the orbs gone nearly black with emotion. She saw them, and wiped at

them, both of them laughing raggedly. He reached for her hands, wrapping them around his neck again

as he leaned down and kissed her.

It was the perfect first kiss for a girl of sixteen who is in love with the twenty-one year-old who

reciprocates her feelings to receive; gentle, loving, fervent.

Then his arms came around her waist and pulled her closer, and passionate was added to the mix.

When the position became uncomfortable to hold, the pair moved to the chair, Caspian sitting down

and pulling Lucy onto his lap. She resumed the kiss, making him laugh at her eagerness.

After what felt like a lifetime, Caspian stopped for breath, pulling a whimper from Lucy. He leaned

forward and kissed her nose, making her crinkle it. He laughed, then rested his forehead on hers again.

"We have to stop, my love. We don't want to move so fast in this dance that we miss the steps."

She pouted prettily, then kissed his cheek. "You're right."

He looked at her in mock shock. "Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

She smirked. "Very funny."

He looked smug. "Well, I thought so."

She kissed him on the cheek, then yawned. Caspian laughed. She was utterly adorable, his Lucy.

HIS Lucy. He liked that term.

He lifted her to her feet, then got up himself. Holding out his hand, he suggested,

"Let's go to bed."

She grinned wickedly. "Together? I thought you said…"

Caspian choked. "You KNOW very well I meant in our own rooms, SEPARATELY." He swatted her gently

on the butt, making her squeal.

They held hands as he escorted her to her room, and kissed goodnight at her bedroom door.

He whispered, "Sleep well, my Queen. I love you."

Her answer was a kiss and a whispered, "I love you too, my King."

She opened her door and entered the room before she shut it gently and leaned against it, the better to

keep from either asking him in or following him to HIS room.

She didn't know Caspian was leaning against the door on the other side, trying hard to keep himself

from doing the same thing.

CoN CL CoN LC

For the next week, when Caspian wasn't meeting with Arden, Caspian and Lucy were almost always

together. It got to be that if someone needed one, they looked for the other.

Edmund had spoken to Caspian about the situation the day they came to him and told him they were

together. His sigh of relief made them both laugh. He told them he approved, then said with a grimace,

"But keep the affection shows to a minimum, ok? I don't need to see it."

Eustace, Altaira and Teddy were relieved as well, smiling when they saw the couple together.

Caspian and Lucy didn't feel the need to show the world they loved each other. The other knew it, and that was enough for them. Oh, they held hands and kissed, but it was usually when they were alone or had wandered into a public place.

When they knew it was just the two of them, however, it was a different matter entirely. They shared passionate kisses and caresses, and several times one or the other had to put the brakes on further exploration.

They really enjoyed lying down together, Lucy's head on Caspian's chest, their arms wrapped together.

But THOSE times were meant purely for their knowledge, not Narnia's.

The funny thing was, now that they had admitted their feelings, their friendship had been restored. They

laughed and teased almost as before, with the added bonus of being able to kiss the other one quiet.

Then, at the end of the week, Aslan came back.

End Part 9